Under the Water
by essukka
Summary: AU. Gail, Traci, Chloe and Andy decide to have a girlfriend getaway and they travel to the Dominican Islands. Gail, originally not so excited by the prospect, soon changes her mind when she meets an intriguing brunette who suddenly - and quite unexpectedly - makes her question some of the choices she has made in her life so far.
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors note:**_

**So, here's my attempt to write my first full multichapter story. So far I've written only one one-shot drabble, so I'm entering to a whole new territory here. I just had this idea and decided that it was my time to contribute something back the Golly fandom community (I think I've read all the Golly stories around!). So this piece is definitely a story of our two favorite girls. **

**The story is AU and takes place in the lovely Domenican Islands. The title was inspired by the lovely Finnish singer Emma Salokoski and her beautiful song called Veden alla which translates "Under the water". **

**Also, English is not my native language, so I apologize for the possible mistakes in the grammar and for all the spelling errors. Thank god for Microsoft auto correct, otherwise I would be totally screwed. **

**So, without further ado... here goes.**

* * *

For some it may have been a dream come true, but for Officer Gail Peck it was merely a consequence of a momentary lapse of judgment that had brought her there. The way she saw it, it was all Traci's fault. After all, she was heavily intoxicated when presented the idea of a girlfriend getaway.

_Girlfriend getaway_. Even thinking about it made her head throb.

At first when asked, even in her drunken stupor, she was able to point out at the ridiculousness of the suggestion. Howeverthat was before Traci started playing dirty; it only took two words for her to get the blonde to concur:

_All. Inclusive. _

Yes, Gail knew very well what that meant: free food and drinks.

_Damn Traci was good. _

And hence, it was Traci's fault that she now found herself in a bus full of tourists, in the middle of nowhere, nothing but sugar loaf fields in sight.

They had arrived to the Dominican Islands an hour prior, but after the four hour flight they still needed to travel an hour and a half to reach their final destination, Puerto Plata. And Gail was cranky as hell. The sun shone way too bright and it was way too hot for her liking.

"Uggh," Gail groaned. "I'm hating this already. I can't believe you talked me into this."

"Well aren't you a little miss sunshine," Traci laughed, amused by the familiar antics of her blonde friend.

"Speaking of, what's with the constant sunshine? How can anyone live here?" Gail continued to whine while earning some not so friendly stares from the other passengers. Apparently her bad mood was not appreciated among other vacationers.

"Don't worry Casper, I brought sunblock just for you," Andy grinned, causing Gail to roll her eyes.

"This is gonna be so great! I can't wait to get there. We're gonna have so much fun you guys," Chloe burst excitedly, and Gail couldn't help but to wonder how it was possible that Chloe was still in one piece with all that excitement in her. She was certain that one day the tiny red head would explode. Literally. Like kaboom_, _bye bye Chloe. And it was that thought made Gail smile for the first time that day, even if the smile itself lasted only for a couple seconds. It, however, didn't go unnoticed by Traci.

"There you go," the detective nudged her friend playfully, completely unaware of Gail's train of thought, but happy to see her friend relenting a bit. "And don't' worry, we'll get you in the right mood once we get there."

"Oh, I'm not worried," Gail sighed, "I'm terrified."

"Just keep your focus Gail," Traci stated and Gail eyed her friend curiously, confused what the detective was getting at. "Alcohol. Lot's and lot's of free alcohol."

And just like that, a bright smile adorned the blondes face. _Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad after all._

* * *

"This place is amazing," Chloe stated in wonder, probably for the tenth time since they had arrived to the hotel which was less than 20 minutes ago. The others nodded, being equally in awe of the place. Even Gail had to admit that the resort was absolutely stunning.

The girls had already finished their checking in and their luggage was taken to their rooms. They

were all in desperate need of freshening up, but agreed that their first priority after all that traveling should be in getting something to drink and making a toast to the beginning of their little getaway . So they made their way to the bar in the lobby and ordered a bottle of champagne, which was also included to their stay in this all inclusive paradise.

"Listen to this. There are 3 swimming pools in the resort, and the hotel has its own beach of course. There is a sports center that has three tennis courts, a basketball court, a gym, six pool tables, and a batting cage. The hotel has also 8 different restaurants, 4 pool bars, a night club and a casino," Andy exclaimed while reading the hotels welcoming brochure.

"So in total, there are 14 different places where you can get alcohol here. Huh." Gail was impressed.

"Plus the mini bar. And room service. Which is also already included to the price," Chloe continued.

"Now I can see what the whole fuss is about. This IS paradise," the blonde exclaimed while relaxing into the soft cushioned seat, feeling the tension that came with the traveling slowly seeping away from her body.

"I told you we'd get you in the right mood once we got you here." Traci smirked.

"Nope."

"No what?"

"It wasn't you." The others looked at the blonde confused. " It was this," Gail stated as if it was obvious, raising her glass of champagne.

The other police women just laughed at the blondes quirky sense of humor and resumed their previous conversation about all the things that the resort had to offer. However Gail, already bored to this particular discussion, opted to use this opportunity to take in her surroundings as she zoned out from the conversation.

The table they were sitting at had a straight view to the open area where people were gathered around the swimming pools, lying in deck chairs and enjoying the now bearable afternoon sun. The hotel was built in to a U-shape; the main building was at the bottom and it was the biggest building in the resort with its' 8 storeys. The pool area was situated in the middle, and it was framed by four beautiful 3 storey buildings on each side. Each room had a balcony towards the open area and Gail could see towels hanging on the rails, signaling that those rooms were already occupied by someone. And while Gail couldn't see the ocean from where she was sitting, she knew it was not far away; its strong odour lingered in the air.

"Did you already let your soon-to-be-hubby know that you have arrived safe and soundly?" Traci asked suddenly, pulling the blonde back from her daydreaming. She noticed that Chloe and Andy had started bickering about something and figured that to be the reason why her friend was now initiating a conversation with her.

"That's funny. Umm, no," Gail stated humorlessly. "He doesn't expect to hear from me unless something is very wrong. So sending him a message would probably just set him off into a panic mode."

Traci rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that's not true."

"Want to test that theory of yours?" Gail challenged. Traci eyed her friend for a moment, figuring out if she was serious or not. But the blonde's unwavering stare was enough for the detective to know that she was not bluffing.

The detective lifted her hands in surrender. "Okay okay, I give up. You guys are so weird."

"Nope, but what is weird, is that you haven't stopped eying your phone since the minute we got here. Wanna tell me what's up?" Gail smirked, nodding towards the phone in the brunette's hand, taking her friend off guard judging by the shocked look on her face.

Traci was indeed taken aback by her perceptive friend, and the smug look on the blondes face told her that she was onto her.

"Just checking on Leo," she tried, and she probably would have sounded convincing should it have been anyone else, but when it came to her blonde friend, she knew she had no chance. And she knew her attempt was futile the minute her friends smile widened.

"Tell my brother I said hello."

"What? That's not… what…"

"I wish you guys would get in on already. I mean slow burn is one thing, but this thing between you guys… it's more like snail burn." Gail sighed dramatically, but her eyes showed amusement.

"There's nothing between me and your brother," Traci continued unconvincingly.

Gail rolled her eyes. This conversation was getting old.

"Except heavy denial," she sighed.

"Oh shut up," Traci slapped her gently to her forearm, earning another smirk from her friend.

_Indeed. She was so busted._


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews, all comments are treasured. Hope you all had a wonderful christmas. :) **

**This one's a bit longer.  
**

* * *

After dinner, the girls all agreed that it was time for a little fun and dancing. They decided to check the pool party that was taking place around the hotels smallest pool located at the far end of the hotel, just beside the beach.

They were all sitting on deck chairs that were laid side by side, while enjoying their drinks and watching people milling around, enjoying the beautiful night laid upon them. Some of the people were still in their swimwear; some had dressed up more nicely.

There setting was perfect: there were lanterns everywhere that were illuminating the pool area with a soft light against the darkening night. There was music, easy and fun, a mix of jazz, pop, groove, and the occasional oldies. There was some dancing going on, some swimming, some talking and, of course, lots of flirting.

"They look cute." Chloe nodded her head towards a small group of good-looking men who were hanging around the other side of the pool. The others looked at the red head curiously.

"What? It's not like I suddenly stop having an eye sight even if I'm with Dov now," Chloe shrugged, taking a sip of her drink while continuing her ogling of the three handsome guys she had earlier pointed out. One of the men, a brown haired man with a well-toned body, seemingly in his 30s, noticed Chloe's not so subtle stare and gave them a small wave accompanied by a charming smile.

"Besides, what happens in Punta Cana, stays in Punta Cana," the red head hummed to herself while waving back to the man who still smiling at them.

"Well that's a ticket to a happy and honest relationship," Gail muttered unimpressed while nursing her beer.

"Come on Gail, relax a little. Who knew that Gail Peck you would be such a prude," Andy teased her, which earned a scoff from the blonde. She turned to look at Traci who was yet to say a word. Traci was always the sensible one, the one who always kept the others in check when it came to morals and such. Surely she would take sides with her.

"Traci, would you please help me here?" Gail whined while looking at her friend expectantly.

"Well…" the detective pondered carefully, "Everyone needs to test their market value once in a while. So I'm not one to judge," she shrugged, earning a mock shock expression from the blonde. "It's just flirting, Gail. And I'm sure Chloe knows where her limits should be," she reassured the blonde who rolled eyes in response.

Gail wasn't really disapproving what Chloe had said earlier - she just didn't want to agree with her. About anything. It was actually their thing: they seemed to have a silent agreement of playing a game where the goal was to rile up the other as best as each of them could and entertain others in the meanwhile. In fact, their friends would probably be shocked if they ever decided to agree on something – even if according to all laws of nature, it was bound to happen at some point.

"Whatever. I actually know that my market value is high up there, so there's no need to test it," the blonde said confidently while slumping back to her chair.

"Good for you blondie," Andy teased. "I at least am planning to have some fun tonight and that means a little bit of drinking, dancing, and lots of flirting."

"I'm game," Chloe chimed in, not very unexpectedly.

Traci sighed. "Yeah, I'm with you guys. Actually, I could use some real one-to-one action before I forget which part goes where," she confessed absentmindedly. Chloe and Andy turned to look at the detective with amused smiles.

"Oh my god…" Gail muttered as she covered her eyes with her forearm, praying that covering her eyes with her arm would help her to imagine herself to be somewhere else. It didn't however.

"What? I'm single," the brunette stated, as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And horny. My god I'm horny," she emphasized her every word, earning a joint gasp from the others.

"Traci! You potty mouth! And to think you're a mother!" Andy laughed.

"I am a mother, but I'm also a woman with womanly needs. Just laying it out there like it is," the detective shrugged.

"In that case ladies, what do you say we go say hello to those fine looking hunks that have been staring us for the past 10 minutes?" Chloe suggested and wiggled her eyebrows.

"You guys go ahead, I need a drink." And with that, Gail got up from her seat. "A large one. A bucket I think. Tequila preferably," she muttered to herself mostly. Traci, Chloe and Andy watched the blonde's departure with matching amused smiles before remembering that they had a mission.

"So, ready?" Chloe chirped as she clapped her hands together excitedly.

* * *

While Gail waited at the bar to be served, she took another look around the pool area. She saw her friends, now at the other side of the pool, talking with the guys that they had been eyeing before. She took a closer look at them now that nobody was watching her, and even she had to admit that the guys were kinda hot. And not only that, but they also looked like descent guys, the kind that aren't too sleazy or too cocky – or too drunk for that matter.

Gail was trained to size people up from afar and to take note of the smallest of things while observing the target. And to Gail, these men represented a target, because even if she wouldn't of have ever admitted it, she was always watching her friends back. For her, it was as a natural of an instinct as breathing.

Gail's assessment of the boys was however cut short when her attention was caught suddenly by something else. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a woman sitting on one of the deck chairs. The chair was moved a little to the back so that it wasn't in line with the others. It was obvious to Gail that the woman had either moved the chair there, or had purposely chosen a place for herself that was a bit aloof.

What had caught Gail's attention was the unordinary setting to a pool party. Because not only had the woman excluded herself from others with her obviously measured seating arrangement, she was also holding a book, or more precisely, she was actually reading a book.

Gail could immediately tell that the book wasn't a prop. She didn't have the book with her to make her look more nonchalant to the fact that she was there alone. No, it wasn't that, Gail was sure of it. Because for one, she was actually reading the book. There was real concentration in her eyes and the woman turned the pages in a steady rhythm (she was also a fast reader, Gail concluded). What Gail also noticed very quickly, was that the woman was beautiful. Breathtaking really. She had long dark brown hair and olive skin that made her look a tad exotic. Even from afar, Gail could tell that the woman's eyes were deep brown and almond shape. Her body was slim in an athletic way, and it was obvious that the woman took great care of it. She was wearing a white beach dress that really accentuated her well-toned body and the curves lying underneath the thin material. The woman was indeed gorgeous. So if anything, the woman could have been using the book to get people to back off, because if she wanted company (and even if she didn't Gail guessed), she would get it. But if that was the case, why did she decide to come and read at a pool party? That would have been irrational, because she could have had just stayed in her room.

While in deep contemplate, Gail failed to notice that the woman in question had sensed a pair of eyes on her and lifted her gaze from the book she had been reading. The brunette scanned her eyes through the crowd trying to determine who was watching her, and soon her eyes fell on a blonde woman who was leaning to the bar, seemingly looking straight at her from the other side of the pool. However her stare didn't seem so… focused. In fact, the beautiful shorthaired woman seemed to be deep in thought and had yet to register that she had got caught staring. The brunette let out a small smile, as she was amused by the situation for some reason.

When Gail finally managed to shake herself from her daze, she noticed that the woman in question was suddenly gone. What were left were an empty chair and an empty margarita glass beside it. The blonde looked around the pool area in hopes of finding the brunette again, but to no avail. Gail sighed, not really knowing why she felt so disappointed suddenly, but she did recognize the feeling however.

"What can I get you?" The blonde was still too deep in her thoughts to notice that she was being addressed.

"Miss?" the bartender tried again, noticing that the blonde seemed to be somewhat absentminded. Finally registering that someone was talking to her, Gail turned around to face the man who was apparently waiting for her to say something.

"Sorry, what?"

"Would you like something to drink?" the bartender repeated patiently with a warm smile.

"Right. Yes. Please." She finally remembered why she was there in the first place: to get a drink. Right.

However the bartender continued to look at her with a raised eyebrow, as if he was expecting something else. And when it finally hit Gail what he was after, someone beat her to it.

"Let me guess: you're a jack and coke kind of girl?" a voice next to her asked, and when Gail turned to look, there she was: the woman the she had been observing before. Yes, the beautiful book worm brunette was now standing right in front of her with an amused smile that was directed obviously to her.

Gail knew immediately that she had been caught. With that knowledge, she started to feel the unwanted heat spreading on her cheeks, knowing that within seconds her face would reach beet red. She was mortified.

The brunette noticed the reaction and her smile widened. She saw the blonde struggle, but instead of giving her an easy way out, she decided to add a little heat to the mix.

"Nice color," she teased and couldn't help but to let out a small laugh when, after her comment, the blonde seemed to turn even a deeper shade of red.

"Nice book." Gail retorted quickly, which surprised the brunette considering that the blonde was in an obvious state of embarrassment just seconds ago. She might have underestimated her a little. The blonde was giving her a teasing smile, but it didn't faze her, quite the contrary. "Touché." the brunette just winked instead.

"So did I get it right?" the brunette continued which earned her a confused look. "Your choice of poison," the brunette elaborated while placing her hands on top of the bar, signaling that she was about to make her order. The blonde looked at brunette carefully, as if she was contemplating what would be the appropriate answer to the woman's simple question.

"When I'm not beer and tequila kind of girl. Depends on the day I guess," Gail finally answered with a shrug accompanied by a small smile.

The brunette quirked an eyebrow. "And today?"

"Definitely the latter." Gail broke into a wide smile, earning as smirk from the brunette before turning towards the bartender to make her order.

"Two beers and two tequilas, please."

"Coming right up," the bartender confirmed. After the bartender left to prepare their drinks, Holly noticed Gail looking at her knowingly. "You're Canadian," the blonde stated matter-of-factly.

"As are you." The brunette concluded. "I'm Holly by the way," the brunette said and offered her hand to the blonde. Gail took it with a contemplating smile and shook it slowly. "Gail."

"Nice to meet you Gail," Holly said sincerely as she looked straight into the blondes pair of cobalt blue eyes. They were enchanting, secretive even, but at the same time they seemed almost transparent. They were so many things at the same time that the brunette felt as if they were almost too intense to look at. Almost.

"So you're here on vacation?" Gail asked after a short silence, knowing how lame it sounded, but not really knowing how else to continue the conversation. She wasn't much of a people's person and she often felt inadequate and uncomfortable in social situations, especially when meeting new people. It wasn't that she was against making new friends, something that her old friends seemed to think. No, it was just that she hated the inevitable awkwardness of stupid conversations more. So she usually just avoided situations that were prone to cause inconvenience. But she wasn't immune to other people, and there were occasions that she felt intrigued enough to make the effort. And apparently, this was one of those occasions. Besides, now she had the first hand opportunity to solve the enigma of one pool party bookworm.

However her lack of social skills were not helping her cause, and what made the situation even more disadvantageous for her, was that the brunette seemed to be merciless. "Take a wild guess," she teased, pointing out the silliness of the original question.

"Right," Gail muttered. This was not going well and she was starting to look like an idiot. She needed to chance tactics. A quick glance around the pool area gave her an idea.

"You see that group of Barbie's over there, chatting with the Kens?" Gail asked as the brunette turned to look what the blonde was pointing at. "Uhuh," she confirmed.

"They are my friends. And apparently, one of them is really horny." Gail winced immediately after those words left her mouth. This was not the tactic she was aiming at. However it did confirm her livelong theory: her mother must have dropped her when she was a baby and caused her permanent brain damage. Because for the life of her, she couldn't come up with any other explanation as to why she couldn't manage situations like these without making herself look like a total nut case.

However, to her surprise, the brunette wasn't fazed at all by that random piece of information. "Which one?" she asked instead as she let her eyes wonder between the girls. Gail pointed Traci out from her friends.

"She's beautiful," Holly concluded, which surprised the blonde. Not the fact that she thought that Traci was beautiful – which she definitely was to everyone with eyes – but the fact that she had pointed it out.

"I guess?" the blonde shrugged as Holly turned to look at the blonde again. The brunette smiled at her, this time a little timidly. "Well I have a particular taste for attractive women," she said softly while looking straight into the blonde's eyes.

"Oh," Gail let out lightly. Holly could tell that the blonde was still processing.

"Oh, "she said again, this time her mouth dropping a little. Holly smiled shyly as she recognized the signs of an epiphany.

"So why aren't you with your friends?" the brunette continued, hoping that she didn't scare off the blonde with her previous straight forwardness.

"I, uh…." Gail was struggling with her newfound information, as a million thoughts where running through her head at the same time. In all honesty, the realization that the beautiful brunette was actually flirting with her threw her off a little. She had had some women hitting on her before, so the situation itself wasn't new. But unlike any other time, this time Gail's immediate reaction wasn't related to annoyance or amusement, but instead she felt perplexed, conflicted even.

One thing was obvious. The woman was flirting with her, and apparently, she didn't mind. This reminded her of the conversation the girls previously had about having a good time and knowing your limits. Perhaps Traci was right. Everyone needs to test his or her market value once in a while.

"Too much plastic for my taste," Gail recovered with her own brand of snark.

Holly took the bait. "And what kind of taste is that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A particular one," the blonde answered vaguely, which earned a laugh from the brunette. Holly couldn't help but to be intrigued by the odd blonde. "So you're picky then?"

Gail shrugged. "I wouldn't put it that way," the blonde said. "I just don't like most people."

"Well that explains it then," Holly said with a smile.

Gail eyed the brunette suspiciously. "Explain what?"

"Why you're here alone staring at strangers, instead of making new friends out there," Holly teased, testing the waters again. But this time, the blonde was ready.

"I'll have you know that staring is a healthy and hygienic hobby, and if you haven't noticed, I'm not alone now or am I?" the blonde stated matter-of-factly.

Holly nodded. "You've got a point there."

"What about you? Are you here with anybody - other than your book?" Gail teased. Holly looked at her amusedly.

"Well… those Kens you referred to earlier? One of them is by brother. And the other two: cousins," she smirked.

The blonde's mouth went agape. "Shit."

"Yeah," the brunette nodded with a smirk.

"So a family trip then?" Gail asked with an unusually high-pitched voice.

"Something like that," Holly smiled.

"Well, now that you mentioned it, I can see the resemblance going on there," Gail waved her hand between the brunette and the group of guys.

"You're saying I look like plastic?" the brunette asked in mock shock.

"No! I mean… that's not what I mean," Gail stuttered, afraid that she had insulted the brunette somehow.

"Sure you didn't," Holly laughed which made the blonde roll her eyes, realizing that she was played again.

"It's okay, I know what you meant," the brunette continued softly, this time making it known that she wasn't teasing the blonde anymore. She couldn't really help herself. Joking around was something that the brunette did when she was nervous. And the blonde made her extremely nervous for some reason.

"This is truly a weird conversation." Gail chuckled despite herself, shaking her head at the peculiarity of the conversation they were having.

Holly let out a small laugh. "Tell me about it."

The girls glanced at each other a bit awkwardly and soon Gail recognized the moment. It was the moment when two people look each other expectantly, waiting for the other to make the decision whether they should keep up with the conversation or wish each other a pleasant evening and go their separate ways.

Gail made the decision. And then she made another one. She fiddled with her left ring finger before slipping something into the pocket of her jeans. It wasn't a vile move, she convinced herself. She had no expectations or intentions. She just wanted to enjoy the company of the lovely brunette a little longer.

"Look," the blonde started, "as much I enjoy the free alcohol, I think I need a break from all of this," she waved around with her hand. "So I was thinking of going to take a walk on the beach. Would you like to join me?"

For a moment, the brunette looked at her with an unreadable look on her face, and suddenly the blonde felt a lot less confident. She realized how corny she might have just sounded. "You don't have to, only if you're not busy. If you actually want to join me. And if you're not busy but you don't want to join me, that's okay too," the blonde began to ramble.

Finally a small but hesitant smile was given. "You're not a serial killer are you?" Holly asked as she squinted her eyes playfully.

"No, not that I last checked, no," Gail shrugged, seemingly relieved by the brunettes playfulness.

"Good. Okay then," Holly nodded.

"Yeah?" Gail's voice was laced with surprise.

"Yeah. It's was way too noisy here anyway. Beers to go?" the brunette asked.

Gail nodded. "Naturally."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note:**

**I'm really amazed that there are so many of you that are following my story. So my humblest of thank yous, it means the world to me to know that someone is reading this as it turns out to be my biggest motivator to continue writing. I was supposed to update this story once a week at most, but it seems that you have inspired me to work a little faster (and this actually true, not a way to fish more readers or reviews). That said, my schedule for the next few weeks is grazy, so it might take a little while longer than usual before I'm able to finish and post the next chapter. Sorry about that. **

**In the meanwhile, here's chapter 3. Hope you enjoy. :)**

* * *

"I might sound like a breathing cliché, but I love walks on the beach," Holly said softly, gently breaking the delicate silence that had been lingering between the two women. Both seemed to be in their own thoughts, though at the same time they were highly conscious of the other. They had been walking alongside the waterline about 20 minutes and only a few words were exchanged. Neither of them minded though. The sun had set a while ago, and the sky was now conquered by the fleet of stars that illuminated the night sea with its soft light. The scenery around them seemed so delicate that too many words said too quickly would have felt intrusive, offensive even.

"I don't think anyone hates walks on the beach," the blonde contemplated out loud. It wasn't a sarcastic remark, but a genuine thought.

"Mmm. Except if you hate sand," Holly pointed out, carrying on the seemingly pointless conversation, which nevertheless seemed to be embraced and welcomed by both of the women.

"True. Didn't think of that," the blonde agreed.

They were carrying their sandals in their other hand, while they each had a bottle of beer in the other. Their walking pace was slow, dragging even, as the waves occasionally greeted their toes before quickly escaping back to the dark ocean.

"So what's with the family get-together?" Gail finally dared, itching to know more about the brunette.

Holly gave her a fleeting smile before turning to look at the ocean. "My brother got divorced. It was finalized last week," she said absentmindedly as she kept her gaze fixed on the vast pool of salt water.

Gail nodded despite of the fact that her company wasn't looking at her. "So you're celebrating his new found singleness?" she concluded for her.

"Yup." Holly confirmed. She took a pause and sighed. "She was a real bitch. Good riddance," the brunette blurted out. Gail eyes went wide as she turned to look at the beautiful brunette with amusement.

"Wow. Didn't think you had that in you," the blonde laughed good-heartedly, surprised by the sudden outburst.

Holly couldn't help but to chuckle herself. "I usually don't, but she… god, she was really a piece of work. She was this controlling and narcissistic devil of a woman," she said lightly, but Gail could tell that the statement was true and that the brunette was being serious - the subtle tone of resentment in her voice was not lost on her. However Gail could also tell that Holly was the kind of person that rarely spoke ill about other people and probably never unfoundedly; she just had that kind of air around her. It was clear as daylight that bitterness was not the brunette's forte. Gail herself would know, because she herself practically invented the concept.

"You know, at one point she even tried to forbid Harry from having any contact with me. Like that was ever to happen." she snorted, obviously not impressed by the manipulations of her ex-sister-in-law. But there was also something else said that momentary caught the blonde's attention.

"Harry?" she quirked an eyebrow, "As in Harry and Holly?", Gail asked, her voice laced with amusement.

"We're twins," Holly shrugged with a smile as she dared a glance at the blonde. She was met by a wide grin.

"That's still funny," Gail giggled.

"So I see," Holly rolled her eyes as she nudged the blonde playfully. The blonde definitely had a childish side to her that was nothing but endearing to Holly. She smiled to the thought for a moment before continuing. "She claimed that I was a bad influence on him. That it was I that tried to poison his mind against her. But she did it all by herself. I said nothing. All I did was try to support my brother with the choices that he had made. And he chose her. Granted, he knew I didn't care for her, but I never said a word about it to him. Still, she blames me of their divorce," the brunette explained before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry", Holly looked at the blonde apologetically, "I'm rambling."

"I don't mind," the blonde confessed and gave her a soft smile before continuing, "Sounds like you really care for him," she added with a mellow tone.

The brunette looked thoughtful for a moment, and then her face was adorned by a warm smile. "Yeah," she breathed out softly before she turned to look at the blonde. "Do you have any siblings?"

Gail smiled to the question. "Yeah, actually I also have a brother," the blonde replied with an ease that surprised even herself. She wasn't usually the one to share, and most of the time she felt highly uncomfortable if someone even tried to initiate a conversation with her that had anything to do with her personal life. However with her newly found friend, she felt almost eager to share something about herself. It was a strange yet light feeling. Gail felt as if they were stuck in a bubble, where all the laws of normality and control were broken, and where she was able to reinvent herself the way she had always wanted. Because Holly didn't know anything about her. She had no preconception of her. To the brunette, she was like a blank page, and she was now given the opportunity to paint the colors of her herself. It wasn't that she wanted to lie or give a manipulated or sugared conception of herself to the brunette - quite the opposite. It was about being able to define herself without anyone else's opinion. Nobody else was able to mess with her picture. Not her colleagues, not her mother. Nobody. And that felt liberating which would have given her a high if she wasn't a bit intimidated by the fact as well. Because even if Gail hated when everyone else tried to define her, she used the opportunity to avoid doing that herself. Which had resulted to a scary thought: she wasn't 100% sure anymore that she knew who she really was.

"Are you close?" Holly asked further, totally oblivious to the blonde's inner thoughts, wanting to know more about the blonde in question.

"I guess so, in our own way. We have each other's back when needed," the blonde confessed. "But we are not… talkers, if you will. It's a Peck thing. We don't talk about feelings. We drown them, usually with tequila," she continued with a shrug.

Holly smiled softly to the blonde. "You're doing just fine."

Gail blushed a little. "I blame the Caribbean air. Don't get used to it," she joked, which earned a hearty chuckle from the brunette.

As they continued walking, a comfortable silence fell upon them once again, if only just for a few minutes.

"He took a bullet for me once," Gail continued after a while. In her state of mind, it took the brunette a few seconds before realizing what she had just been told. This made Holly stop in her tracks as she turned to face the blonde. "What? You've been shot at?!" she asked dumbfounded, her voice wavering between worry and disbelief.

"A couple of times," she added nonchalantly, which seemed to confuse the brunette even more.

"I'm a cop," she explained. "Downside of the job."

Holly looked at her for a moment with a hesitant look, as if she was contemplating carefully what to say next. If she was honest with herself, founding out that Gail had been in such danger in her life – more than once for that matter -, was a terrible thought. Holly had to remind herself that the blonde was someone she had just met, and therefore she had no right to have feelings or opinions about the matter, nothing more that wasn't considered to be along the lines of general concern. However she didn't trust herself of her voice not to give her away, so she refrained herself from any vocal reaction, and instead she settled for a nod and a small smile, letting Gail know that she wasn't disturbed by that newfound information (even though that wasn't completely true), and that she wanted the blonde to continue.

"Steve, my brother, he's also a cop. Well, everyone in my family is in the force. Comes with the bloodline. In fact, our family is often referred to as police royalty," Gail continued, scoffing to the last sentiment as they started walking again.

However the brunette didn't seem to notice it, or just chose to ignore it. "Impressive," the brunette said instead, sounding genuine with her compliment. Gail expected sarcasm, but there was no trace of it in the brunette's voice. That was something new.

Gail shrugged. "Or sad. I'm not sure which one."

Holly had noticed the thinly veiled bitterness in the blondes tone earlier, but had decided not to call her on it for the time being. She didn't want the blonde to feel uneasy with her, and asking tons of heavy questions based on subtle or even unconscious innuendo could and probably would do that. Even if Gail seemed to talk quite easily about herself, Holly sensed that this occasion was more of an exception than a rule. She didn't want to pressure the blonde; however it seemed that the beautiful blonde was willing to share more.

"Are you speaking generally or from personal experience?" Holly asked as she now knew that it was safe to pry a little more.

Gail thought the question for a moment. "I love being a cop. But then again I don't know any better. That's all I've ever known, and there was never another choice for me. I don't know if it would have made a difference though. It's just a thought."

Holly hummed in response, letting the blonde know that she understood what the blonde meant.

"What about you? What do you do for a living?" Gail countered quickly, wanting to distract the attention away from her for a moment. It wasn't that the attention was unpleasant per say; it was just that being open and honest was something she was not used to, and therefore it felt a bit too all-consuming.

Holly grinned at the blonde. "Well, I dissect bodies mostly," she stated cheerfully, and witnessed as the blondes eyes went wide.

"And_ you_ asked _me _if I was a serial killer? What, you wanted to exchange peer-knowledge on how to dispose a body the most efficient way or something?" Gail asked in mock shock.

"Oh shut up," the brunette scolded the blonde playfully before her expression turned to a one of mischief. "Besides, I don't need anyone's advice on that matter, because I already know the answer to that," she winked at the blonde, whose eyes seemed to be bulging out of their eye sockets. "I'm a forensic pathologist," she finally concluded with a grin.

The brunette would have been an easy target for Gail's snark, but the blonde bit her tongue. She was actually enjoying having a real conversation for once, and more importantly, she was genuinely interested of the woman. So she decided to let it go for now. "Where?" she asked instead with sincere interest, which surprised Holly, because she had been almost certain that the blonde would tease her about her chosen profession after it was revealed.

"Vancouver."

The blonde nodded. "You know, we could use a competent dead people's doctor in Toronto. The one we have, well, he reeks of death. Probably because he already has his other foot in the grave. Sometimes, with him, it's hard to tell which one is the body and which one is the pathologist," Gail said frowning.

"Dr. Wilkinsson?" Holly asked.

"You know him?" Gail asked surprised, before realizing, "…of course you know him." She rolled her eyes to her own stupid question. They did work in the same field after all, and it wasn't like there was a huge troop of forensic pathologists going around in Canada in the first place.

"He's a competent man. Don't let those wrinkles fool you," Holly smiled. "Besides, you don't even know me. I might be really crap at what I do," she challenged the blonde.

"Are you?" Gail deadpanned.

"Of course not!" Holly protested quickly. She had asked for it, but it didn't mean she couldn't pretend to be offended by the question.

Gail smiled knowingly at her. "Didn't think so. It's written in your face," she said matter-of-factly.

"What is?" Holly narrowed her eyes, glancing at the blonde with suspicion. The mischievous look in the blonde's eyes was a sure sign that she was about to be teased. And surely enough, Gail didn't fail to deliver.

"That you're a nerd," the blonde smirked.

"Charming," Holly said as she rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hold back the wide smile that forced its way onto her lips.

"Hey, I happen to like nerds. Especially super nerds," Gail said with a sweet smile, her words sounding more genuine than first intended. She blushed slightly to her own admission.

Holly turned to look at the blonde with a lop-sided grin. "Is this the particular taste you were talking about earlier?"

Gail smiled crookedly. "No comment."

* * *

"So are you originally from Vancouver?" Gail asked while playing with the label of her now empty beer bottle. After walking for a while, they had found a nice spot that was secluded, but close enough to the hotel. The beach was quiet; there were only a few other couples in sight, which was surprising since there were at least three hotel resorts nearby. But neither Gail nor Holly was complaining. They were both enjoying the feel of privacy while sitting on the sand, breathing in the fresh air that travelled with the waves.

"Nope. Thunder Bay," Holly answered as she downed the last of her beer.

"Really?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Holly asked with a slight apprehension as she turned to look at the blonde.

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. I... ," she paused for a moment, "I actually I have no idea. You just, I thought you would be from a big city is all," Gail tried to explain.

Holly looked thoughtful. "Mmm. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Neither. Just an observation," Gail smiled sincerely, and Holly couldn't but help but to reciprocate. "Well what about you? Born and raised in Toronto?" the brunette asked.

"Yep. Though saying I was raised there is a questionable expression," the blonde sneered, "but you can say I grew up there," she decided.

"What happened to your parents?" Holly asked carefully. She mentally chastised herself after noticing how the blonde had stiffened immediately after she had voiced the question. "Sorry, was that too personal?"

"No, its fine," Gail said quickly, not wanting the brunette to think that she had done something wrong. She gave the pathologist a comforting smile. "And it's not that, I had parents, well, still have unfortunately… just, bad ones that's all," she finished a bit solemnly despite of herself.

"I'm sorry," Holly empathized. She could see that the subject was quite sore from how the look in the blondes blue eyes hardened. However she knew it wasn't directed at her, and surely enough, as those blue eyes found hers once again, the look in her eyes softened instantly.

"Don't be. I'm just complaining," Gail sighed, trying to lighten the mood by downplaying her own words. But Holly knew better.

"And yet I think there is a story there that is much more complex than that," Holly suggested, while placing her hand tenderly on top of Gail's that was anxiously trying to rip off the remains of the etiquette glued to the bottle. Gail hadn't even noticed what she was doing until she felt the brunette's hand gently taking a hold of hers, stopping her hands from fidgeting. The gesture was simple and innocent, but it caused a strong wave of comfort and calm wash all over Gail's body. The feeling was so strong that Gail felt almost dizzy. What came as a shock, however, was that she suddenly, out of the blue, felt like crying. She managed to swallow the sudden urge, but it didn't come far from surfacing. The beautiful brunette pathologist, who was still practically a stranger to her, had somehow gotten Gail to feel safe enough to let herself feel openly, and she hadn't even noticed it herself until now. And to Gail, that might have been the scariest feeling ever, because being in control of her feelings and keeping them locked up were her most important acts of self-preservation.

"You scare me," the words came out before the blonde was able to stop them from forming. Her voice was raspy and raw, and Gail winced immediately after hearing her own voice. She tried to cover her slip by finishing her thought with a seemingly carefree smile, but from Holly's point of view, the look on her face was closer to an odd grimace than anything.

Holly, of course, knew that Gail's words had real meaning behind them, but she also knew when to leave things as they were. She carefully let go of Gail's hand. "Well, I am known to be a serial killer," she winked, breaking the tension of which the blonde was very grateful for. Gail let out a relieved sigh as she was able to regain a bit of her self-control again.

"Thank god I catch you guys for a living then," the countered with a small smile.

Holly squinted playfully. "So this is an undercover mission then? Because in that case, you have successfully infiltrated my gang," Holly lowered her voice as to make it sound more conspiracy-like. The woman was ridiculous and Gail loved it.

"Your gang?" Gail mock gasped. "There are _othe_r serial killer nerd's out there?"

"Many." Holly deadpanned.

"Dear lord." Gail sighed. Then a thought occurred to her. "Do I get a membership card then?" she smirked, causing the brunette to burst out laughing.

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?" There had been a question on Holly's mind for a while now that she was curious about. The blonde simply hummed in response. "Why are you here?"

Gail turned to look at the brunette with confusion. "Don't follow."

"Why aren't you with your friends? Out there, partying?" Holly elaborated, swaying her hands vaguely in the process.

Gail looked the brunette with a raised eyebrow. "Nerd, there is a very simple answer to that. If you think hard enough, I sincerely believe that you will figure it out by yourself." Now it was Holly's turn to be confused. "Because I'm with you. Duh!" Gail rolled her eyes, but she could hardly contain her lips as they spread into a grin a moment later.

"Smartass," Holly muttered as she gently hit the officer in the arm. She sighed. "Okay, let me rephrase it. You seem very different from your friends. Granted, I don't know them, at all, in fact I've never even met them… but something tells me that you're not exactly carved from the same tree. So I guess my question is, how are you friends exactly?"

Gail looked at the brunette thoughtfully and there was a hint of surprise mixed in the shades of her cobalt blue eyes. "Perceptive, aren't you?"

"One of my many skills," Holly retorted suggestively as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"I'm sure," Gail winked, becoming more comfortable with the flirtatious tone of their banter. In fact, if she was honest to herself, she enjoyed it immensely. She did feel a bit guilty, but that didn't stop her from enjoying her night with the gorgeous and interesting pathologist. It was just what it was, nothing less, nothing more. She knew the line was thin, but she was also sure that she was not a person to cross it. And knowing Nick, he had probably flirted with loads of girls during their time together. In the end, it was just a case of getting some additional attention. In the scheme of things, what they were doing was harmless. Wasn't it?

Gail processed the brunettes question for a moment. "It's true, we are very different from each other. All of us. Maybe, if the circumstances would be different, we wouldn't be friends at all. I'm not sure we even like each other that much. But we are definitely bonded to each. We look out for each other. They make sure that every day I get to go home in one piece, and I do the same for them. It's not perfect, but it's unconditional. It's a connection that no-one understands outside the force."

To Holly, it was evident that the blonde really cared about her friends, even though their relationship might have been originally based on convenience more than anything else. But that didn't make the connection any less real. In fact, she could tell by the way she spoke of them, that Gail kept them close to her heart.

"So I presume they're also cops?" Holly asked, even if she knew the answer already.

Gail realized her own lack of explanation. "Oh, I skipped that part, didn't I?"

"Don't worry," Holly smiled. "Like you said, I'm perceptive," she winked at the blonde.

Gail shook her head with mock amazement. "What a talent you are," she breathed out.

Holly just smirked back at the blonde. She was enjoying the way they were able to banter so easily with each other, like they had known each other for years. What was more impressive, though, was the way they could change the mood of the conversation in an instant, sway easily between serious confessions and easygoing banter. They managed that without either of being disrespectful towards the other, and that was not always an easy balance to achieve.

"Would you die for one of them? Throw yourself in front of a bullet?" Holly asked softly, her tone indicating the intimacy of the question.

"In a heartbeat," Gail answered without missing a beat as she turned to look the brunette with soft eyes. Holly could see that there was no hesitation, only determination with a hint of affection shining through.

"You are brave," the brunette whispered with genuine amazement.

The brunette looked at her with such intensity that all of a sudden Gail felt naked before the brunettes almond eyes. She felt bashful, and what was worse, the blonde felt her cheeks starting to redden once again. Her own body seemed to be nothing but traitorous when it came to the brunette. She broke their stare and turned around to face the ocean, trying to hide the obvious signs of the effect the amazing pathologist was having on her.

She sighed. "No. I'm a brat," she told the brunette. It was meant as a sarcastic snark, but it didn't quite reach the intended tone.

"Naah." Holly shook her head as she playfully nudged the officer with her shoulder.

Gail snorted. "Trust me, I am. The worst kind."

"Well, fortunately, they are not exclusive traits," Holly declared happily.

Gail turned to face the brunette with her trademark smirk. "Who's the smartass now?" she laughed as the brunette just wiggled her eyebrows at her, earning another hearty laugh accompanied by a playful shove from the blonde.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: This one was a bit hurried, therefore there might be quite a few mistakes. Forgive me dear readers.**

* * *

Holly shivered. They had been sitting and talking for almost two hours now. The afterheat of the burning sun that had dominated the sky all day had slowly been replaced by the night chill, and for Holly it was getting harder and harder to ignore the goose bumps on her bare arms caused by the gentle yet insidious breeze.

"It's getting cold," she sighed, finally giving in to her need of warmth.

Gail examined her for a second and noticed that the brunette indeed looked like she was cold. "Yeah, we should head back," she agreed as she stood up and wiped the sand out of her pants. Then she offered her hand to the brunette, who was pulled up from the ground after she gladly took hold of it. Holly straightened her dress before offering a Gail a small hesitant smile. It was reciprocated by the blonde before they started walking back towards the hotel.

Neither of them said a word during their way back, and after 10 minutes of walking they found themselves in front of the hotel. The pool party was still in its full swing as Gail eyed the scenery unimpressed. She couldn't spot her friends from the crowd, but she was sure that they were still there somewhere. It also seemed that now there were a lot more people in the party than earlier, before they left. No way was she going back there, especially when there was now a notable risk of being trampled by a bunch or drunken obnoxious tourists. No drink was worth the risk.

Gail's thoughts were interrupted by a sound of someone clearing their throat. _Holly._ She broke her daze and turned to look at the brunette curiously who was already looking at her smiling.

"Thank you for a lovely evening Gail," the brunette said softly.

Gail raised an eyebrow. "You're ditching me already, Nerd?" she asked playfully, however there was a wistful echo in her sentiment.

Holly looked at Gail with mild confusion. "No, I mean… I thought…." She wasn't expecting that Gail would still want to continue their evening together even though she had seemed to be enjoying it as much as Holly had. She just assumed that Gail would want to go back to her friends.

"Look, to be honest, I don't feel tired yet. But, I also don't want to go back to that party and have to witness some embarrassing late night dance moves and awkward ogling and goggling between your family and my friends. So, I was thinking, if you're not tired of me yet that is… that we could go to a bar that is a bit quieter, maybe the one near the restaurant which serves Italian food, and have a night cap or something. If you want," Gail suggested, not wanting the night to be over just yet. She looked at the brunette hopefully.

However Holly's seemed hesitant, borderline reluctant even. The brunette cast her eyes on the ground nervously, as it was clear as day that she was having an inner battle about something. Finally she dared a quick glance of Gail and sighed. "Look Gail…" she started, but it was all she managed before she witnessed Gail's face drop. There was an unpleasant twist in her stomach as she witnessed the hopeful spark fade out from the blondes mesmerizing eyes. Holly bit her bottom lip hard. Gail still looked at her expectantly, but she could see the rejection ghosting her eyes.

"Sure. Let me just get my sweater first," she finally decided as she let out a soft smile. Gail looked dumbfounded for a second: not in a million years did she expect Holly to say yes, not after the brunette's obvious hesitation. However she was not complaining, as a jolt of relief spread through her body.

"Of course," she nodded as a wide smile spread on her lips.

* * *

As it turned out, both Holly's and Gail's rooms were located in the main building. "Which floor?" Gail asked as they entered the elevator.

"Fifth," Holly replied.

"So, not only we are both accommodated in the same building, but we also live in the same floor. What a coincidence, Nerd," Gail noted as she pushed the button with the number 5 on it before turning to face the brunette again.

Holly looked at Gail suspiciously. "Hmm. I don't believe in coincidences," she narrowed her eyes as she looked Gail meaningfully, implying that she suspected foul play. There was, however, signs of a poorly tamed smirk on her lips that revealed the true nature of her statement.

"Uhuh. So we have a paranoid one here. Say, do you believe in conspiracy theories in general?" Gail teased as she poked Holly playfully in the arm.

"We'll actually, according to Michelle Foucault, power structures are always factitious, so where there is power, there is always…"

"We're here!" Gail announced quickly, interrupting the brunettes impending ramble as the elevator reached their floor and the doors opened. Holly sent her a glare, to which Gail replied with an innocent smile, one that undid Holly's faux-wrath in an instant.

They walked down the hallway, passing a few rooms until Holly came to a stop in front of one of the doors.

"So this is me," she said as she turned to look at the blonde. Suddenly she felt a bit bashful. Perhaps it was the familiar setting that reminded her of that delicate moment when a first date is coming to an end and there is this awkwardness over whether you should kiss the other or not. This wasn't a date however, nor was the night over just yet. But as she stood there watching the breathtaking blonde, she couldn't help the butterflies forming in her stomach. She knew she was in trouble, but tried her hardest to ignore the feeling.

"Right. My room is that way, so I guess we'll meet here in five?" Gail asked as she tugged her hands in the front pockets of her jeans, also feeling the effects of the charged air lingering between them.

"Sure, come knocking on my door when you're ready," Holly nodded. They shared a quick smile before they went their separate ways, Holly entering in her room while Gail continued down the hallway towards her own room.

* * *

Gail exhaled slowly before she made a fist and lifted it carefully to the level of her shoulder. Just as she was about know make contact with the mahogany door, she hesitated, and then, lowered her hand again. But it wasn't' because of nerves really. Well, it might have played a small part in it. But mostly it was due to the fact that she felt… conflicted. Like her head was screaming for instructions that the rest of her body just wouldn't follow. She had never been in this kind of situation before, as she had been so sure that she never would. She didn't even know what it was really, only that her head was screaming her to take a step back. Because she knew, without a doubt, that she was attracted to Holly - way more than she should have been. And even if Gail wasn't the most in-touch-with-her-feelings kind of girl, she knew at least that much.

However she was engaged to be married with someone else. With Nick. With the boy that had been her lover and best friend since they were 16. And even if she wasn't about to act on her attraction towards the brunette, it still felt wrong to encourage those feelings by spending more time with her. But at the same time, she had never been so enthralled about someone so instantly before. Was it wrong to just explore the feeling, if only for one night?

Also the fact that Holly was a woman, that she was attracted to a woman, was something she didn't want to think about. She couldn't, because finishing that thought could have been really damaging for her. Because it wasn't a new thought for her, however it was one she had successfully ignored so far. The best was to deprive it from oxygen, because it was bound to burn her and burn her badly. So she decided to leave it be as she once again locked the thought far in the inner depths of her mind.

But the thing was, that, in the end, Gail's inner turmoil had nothing to the pull that kept her there, still, itching to move forward. There was force and counter force. She didn't know which one was which, only that the pull she felt for the pathologist was way stronger than all the reasoning and questioning in the world that could have kept her from knocking the door.

So after lifting and lowering her hand a couple of more times, she finally sucked in a breath and knocked the wood gently. It took only a few seconds before the door was yanked open and a befuddled looking Holly came into the view. She gave the blonde an apologetic look before motioning the blonde to enter the room "Sorry, I can't find my sweater anywhere. Come in."

Gail obliged as she closed the door behind her. She smiled as she felt relieved that Holly's attention was partly on something else, for it diffused the charged air that would have been surely there without the case of the missing sweater.

While Holly was frantically going through her stuff, Gail made her way across the room to the balcony and settled herself leaning on the railing. "Wow. You have an amazing view from here," the blonde breathed out, genuinely impressed by the view. She could see practically the whole resort from there, as the balcony was situated towards the pool area. There were no high structures in the area, only some palm trees that weren't enough to cover the view, so even from the fifth floor, Gail could see as far as the beach from there.

"And you don't?" she heard an absentminded Holly ask.

"Not like this one. The view from my room is to the other side of the hotel. It's ok, but this is something else," she explained as she let her eyes wander around the area. She noticed she had a good view to the pool party as the music could be heard clearly to where she was standing. Soon her eyes fell on a familiar face, and then another. And another.

"And there are our friends," she stated before frowning. "Oh my god, is that Andy? What the hell is she doing?" Gail squinted her eyes to get a better look. It seemed her friend was doing cartwheels on the grass area near the pool, while her other friends and Holly's family members seemed to be cheering her. She rolled eyes, thought secretly feeling pleased that her friends seemed to be having a good time. They were still idiots though.

Holly had stopped rummaging her suit case as she now joined Gail to the balcony. As she looked down to see what Gail was referring to, an idea popped in her head. "You know, we could stay here if you want. Empty the mini bar or order something from the room service. Make fun of our drunk friends slash relatives," she offered innocently, not even realizing how that could have sounded to the blonde. However the blonde didn't seem to catch on that either or chose to ignore it, as she turned to look at Holly excitedly like a kid on Christmas morning.

"I like the way you think, Nerd." she grinned, obviously liking the idea of spending the rest of the night with her favorite spare time hobby: making fun of her friends.

* * *

"So how is it?" Gail asked expectantly, watching Holly's face closely for any signs. At first, there weren't any, until after a few seconds the corners of the brunette's mouth started to twitch. "It's… interesting…" she swallowed thickly, "and it's… really awful Gail," she blurted out with a laugh, unable to hide her disgust anymore. "I suggest you to bury any possible dream of becoming a bartender one day. Please, it would be painful for a lot of people. Innocent people, might I add," Holly smirked as Gail frowned at her. This couldn't be right.

"You are exaggerating," the blonde huffed before taking the glass from Holly's hand and drinking from it. Her eyes went wide before she spit the liquid back to the glass. "Oh my god! You're right, this is disgusting!" she exclaimed as she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt.

"Oh well, another dream buried," Gail sulked before a playful smile spread on her lips, matching the one that the brunette was giving at her. She let out a small laugh as she rose to her feet. "I really need to rinse my mouth after that. Be right back." Holly just nodded amusedly.

When Gail disappeared behind the bathroom door, Holly took a glance of the assortment of the now empty mini bottles spread on the table. The sight brought a smile on Holly's face. Gail had been trying to come up with a new trademark drink for almost an hour now, and while none of them were really good, the first 3 were at least drinkable, whereas her last attempt was downright disgusting. And that was an achievement in itself, because neither of them were exactly sober anymore, and usually that makes people less concerned about the taste and more concerned about the amount of the liquid. However Holly couldn't have drank that last mix even with damaged taste buds, she concluded.

As she started to gather up the bottles before throwing them to the trash bin under the table, she could hear a familiar song start to play in the background from where the pool party was mellowing down. Holly recognized the song easily – _Damn I wish I was your lover_ by Sophie B. Hawkins - as it was a permanent part of one of her Spotify playlists. As effortlessly and naturally as breathing, she started to sing softly, repeating the words she had heard so many times before.

_That old dog has chained you up all right_

_Give you everything you need_

_To live inside a twisted cage_

_Sleep beside in empty rage_

_I had a dream I was your hero_

_Damn I wish I was your lover_

_I'd rock you till the daylight comes_

_Make sure you are smiling and warm_

Meanwhile, a pair of blue eyes were fixated on the capturing vision that was Holly Stewart. When Gail had exited the bathroom, the first sight of the brunette had caught her breath and made her stop in her tracks. All coherent thought had left her brain in that instant, as she now watched the breathtakingly beautiful woman, singing softly along a tune, that somehow felt way too fitting and way too revealing in that moment. It felt as if the song shamelessly pointed towards the elephant in the room, and suddenly the blonde felt like her skin was on fire. And she wished she wanted to run. She wished she wanted to escape, like she always did when things got too overwhelming. But she didn't. Not this time. Not now, not when for once, it would have been the right thing to do. Oh the irony of life.

Instead, before giving her mind a chance to protest, Gail started to walk towards the brunette, who was now leaning to the rail, her back turned towards the blonde, and who seemed yet to notice the officer's presence. Gail had no idea what she was about to do, just that she had an overpowering need to be close to the mesmerizing woman that was now filling all her senses.

Holly didn't notice Gail's presence until she registered the scent of her perfume lingering in the air. She could feel that the blonde was close to her, very close, a realization that made her heart start beating violently in her chest. They weren't touching, but Holly could feel the blonde's breath caress the delicate hairs in the back of her neck as she tightened her grip of the railing, closing her eyes.

"This is one of my favorite songs," Holly breathed out, letting the blonde know that she knew she was there. She tried to keep her voice calm, but it was a futile attempt: her voice sounded shaky, her skin covered by goose bumps, and if that wasn't enough to reveal her emotional turmoil, it seemed that every hair on her body stung up the second that she felt two arms settling on her waist before tugging at her gently, requesting silently for her to turn around.

And so everything changed, in that instant. It wasn't much but it was enough. Something was crossed, a line was blurred, and even though the simple act itself was innocent enough, it broke the illusion that they were in control of what was happening between them.

Gail didn't let go of the brunette as she turned around in her arms. Holly kept her eyes to ground as she bit her lower lip, too afraid to lift her eyes to meet Gail's what was surely to be an intense gaze. Because she knew that she could get lost in those amazing blue eyes, that they could rip apart every single thread of self-control she had left in her body. No-one had ever made her feels so much before, not in such a short time; no-one had ever had this kind of power on her. And the alcohol in her system only enhanced the haze that was now clouding her mind, her body.

Then a finger was placed under her chin, and with a gentle lift, her eyes were brought to meet a pair of blue ones, the same ones that she had tried so hard to avoid looking at. Gail could see the trepidation in the brunette's eyes, but instead of pulling away, she offered her a reassuring smile.

"Dance with me," she said with a soft, gentle voice.

_This bloke can't stand to see you black and blue  
I give you something sweet each time you  
Come inside my jungle book  
It's just too good  
Don't say you'll stay  
'Cause then you go away_

"Okay," Holly croaked out, not trusting her voice to say anything else.

She felt her being pulled towards the blonde, who wrapped her arms now more securely around her waist. She wrapped her own arms loosely around Gail's neck before they slowly started swaying to the rhythm of the music.

_I sat on the mountainside with peace of mind  
I lay by the ocean making love to her with visions clear  
Walked for days with no one near  
And I return as chained and bound to you_

Soon Holly found herself relaxing in the warm embrace, and after a minute, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she placed her head on the crook of the blonde officers neck, resting it there while they continued their slow dancing. Holly could hear the blonde's heartbeat speed up as her own heart matched the rhythm. Neither was able to pretend anymore that what they were doing was innocent. Because the embrace they now found themselves in, was perhaps the most intimate moment that either of them had ever experienced.

_Damn I wish I was your lover  
I'll rock you till the daylight comes  
Make sure you are smiling and warm  
I have everything  
Tonight I'll be your mother  
I'll do such things to ease your pain  
Free your mind and you won't feel ashamed  
Shucks for me there is no other  
You're the only shoe that fits  
I can't imagine I'll grow out of it  
Damn I wish I was your lover_

As the song came to an end, neither of them dared to move. The moment felt so delicate, so fragile, that even a breath inhaled too deeply could have broken it in pieces. They both knew that once that happened, once the reality started seeping in, all the colors would gradually fade and turn into different shades of gray, shades that were important but unwelcomed for just a little while longer.

It was Holly who finally made the first move. She shifted her body ever so slightly; just enough to create a bit of room between their bodies so she could raise her head to meet the blonde's eyes. And once her brown ones met the stormy blue ones, she almost gasped. Because what she saw in those darkened blue eyes was not only longing and affection, but they were also drowning in desire. Desire for her.

"Holly…" Gail whispered as she lifted her other hand to caress the brunette's cheek with her thumb. Holly couldn't help but to lean to the touch as it felt so incredibly good being touched by the blonde. She was helpless under that touch. She saw how Gails eyes dropped to her lips and felt her thumb follow the path of her eyes. Holly felt her heart pounding in her chest, so loud, that she could hear her blood rushing in her ears.

Gail lingered on the brunette's alluring lips, unmoving, before she finally lifted her gaze to look at the brunette. However this time, the look on her face was filled with regret.

"I'm involved… with somebody," the blonde croaked out, finally being able to voice the words that she needed to say, even if they were the same words that she didn't want to say. But she had to. It was how she was built.

And now that they were out, now that she other shoe had dropped, she felt relief, but also a huge wave of sadness and regret wash over her. And when she felt the brunette take a step back, detangling herself from the embrace, she felt her stomach clench. She watched the brunette cautiously, waiting for the lashing out that she surely deserved. But surprisingly, the brunette didn't seem that angry. Disappointed, yes, but angry: no.

"I know," Holly sighed, as she shook her head ever so slightly as if she was scolding herself.

"How?" Gail whispered, surprised completely by the revelation.

"Earlier, I saw you take the ring off," the brunette answered regretfully.

"Right." Gail nodded her head while biting her lower lip. What a mess. She took another look at the brunette.

"I'm so sorry."

"Me too." A silence fell upon the two.

"I should go," Gail finally concluded.

"Yeah, you should," Holly agreed as she turned her head, not being able to look at the blonde anymore.

Gail nodded to herself, before turning around and heading towards the door. When she reached the exit, she turned around to take a last look of the brunette, who was now leaning on the railing of the balcony. Gail felt the need to say something, anything, but her mouth was not able to deliver anything but a deep sight.

After a few seconds, Holly heard the door close. The sound made her finally bury her head in her hands.


	5. Chapter 5

"Gail! Over here!"

The blonde winced as she heard the familiar high-pitched voice calling out to her. She sighed. _Just great._

She never was a big fan of chipper little monkeys in the morning, but today, on this particular morning, she really_ really_ wanted to just shoot herself in the eye after hearing Chloe's voice echoing in the breakfast room.

For a second she contemplated her options. She could just skip breakfast, retreat back to her room and order room service. That could work. While at it, she could just stay there for the rest of their vacation, and by doing so, avoid any further encounters with her annoying friends and possible awkward ones with…. other people. Actually, that had a tempting sound to it, Gail mused.

But then, as a statement of fait perhaps, her stomach growled loudly, pointing out that her need for food was rather urgent. And if she was being totally honest, she did kinda want to hear all the gossip of yesterday evening - even if she would never admit that to her friends. And perhaps…. perhaps meanwhile, she would be able, if just for a moment, to stop thinking about the other events of yesterday evening (and night); the ones that had been playing over and over again in her head, just like a broken record, ever since the events took place. Some of them would have made good memories, some even good stories, especially the part where they were making fun of their friends while watching them from the balcony of Holly's room. Gail, true to herself, was itching to tell her friends about that, to tease them about how they witnessed some really embarrassing dance (and other) moves taking place. The thought amused her, though only just a for a second. Because that was only the half of the story, the indifferent part in the scheme of everything that happened. And the other part of the story… it was the when she almost came undone; that moment when she almost pressed her lips on the brunettes, and how she was certain now, that if that would have happened, they would have not stopped there. And that was the scariest thought of them all – the thought of having no self-control over your actions. But she did stop. She did. Just in time, just before anything that would have had a real consequence happened. Yet, that thought wasn't a comforting one this morning. It was a wistful notion that lied heavy in her chest.

Gail tried to shake those thoughts as she took a quick scan around the room, spotting her friends sitting at one of the tables close to the huge breakfast buffet. She made a trademark grunt and an eye roll, mostly out of habit, before deciding to join them. It was a given anyway. And besides, after yesterday's party, all natures of law suggested that her friends should be a little less peppy this morning.

However, as it turned out, that was not the case.

"Good morning grumpy!" Chloe announced excitedly the minute the blonde reached the table.

"Oh my god, please don't talk to me," Gail groaned as she slumped herself on one of the chairs.

"Hangover?" Traci asked casually, ignoring the blonde's grumpy attitude, just like she always did. But she did it without being annoying, and that was why Gail liked the woman so much.

"I don't need a hangover to find that one annoying," she huffed as she nodded her head towards the red head. Suddenly she frowned as a though crossed her mind. "Oh god, imagine this if I did have a hangover… " she continued in mock shock.

That earned a glare from Chloe. "Oh shut up," the red head whined.

Traci just smiled at their usual banter. "So where were you last night? We didn't see you all night," the detective asked curiously. "Anyone else, and I would have already called the search party."

The blonde just shrugged. "I can assure you, that my disappearance was well calculated and very intentional."

Traci rolled her eyes to the blonde; Gail was being difficult again, but she was not in the mood for her friend's bull shit this morning. She shot the blonde an exasperated look, but unfortunately that only fed the blonde's bad mood.

"I just wasn't in the mood for partying with intoxicated air heads," Gail continued seemingly nonchalantly. Her snark was becoming borderline hurtful, and that was rare, even for Gail. Fortunately her friends knew her well enough not to be hurt by the statement. Instead, Traci's expression changed to a softer one, as she now eyed the blonde curiously. "Wow, you're grumpier than usual. You okay there?"

"Just peachy," Gail muttered first, but then her eyes relented into a softer a look as she lifted her gaze to meet her friends, her eyes apologetic. Traci knew something was up, but she also knew that this was as much as she could get out of the blonde right now. So she let it go, knowing that she could only make things worse by pushing the girl too much. Gail recognized the gesture, and was thankful that her observant friend was equipped with a great deal of emotional intelligence. Chloe, however, seemed oblivious what was going on as she happily consumed her breakfast in silence. Though silence was never the girls default mode, so it was Gail's guess that Chloe's apparent oblivion was actually a conscious – and therefore, a consciously considerate - choice. After all, the girl was not as dense as she made out to be - at least not all of the time. In fact, now that Gail thought about it, from the four of them, it was probably Andy who was the most slow-witted of them all. She wasn't dumb, not really, but sometimes she was just really…. naïve perhaps?

"Where's Andy by the way?" Gail suddenly noticed that the brunette in question was nowhere in sight.

"That… is an interesting question," Traci smirked as she took a sip of her coffee.

"She left the party around 1 am." Chloe filled in. "With somebody," she continued with a suggestive tone as she wiggled her eyebrows.

This piece of news perked Gail up instantly as she leaned forward, a surreptitious smile forming on her lips.

"Ooo. Do tell."

Traci shrugged. "Not much to tell really. All we know is that she hit it off with one of the guys from yesterday and that they left the party together around midnight. The rest is unfortunately up to your imagination."

"Or not," Chloe said grinning as her eyes drifted somewhere behind Gail. "There she is."

Gail and Traci both turned their heads to see Andy near their table. Neither of them was able to hide their smirks after noticing that their friend was not alone.

"Good morning," Traci offered as the pair reached the table. She was met with two tired smiles, one slightly bashful one and one warm one. What caught Gail's attention, however, was that the latter one reminded her of that one particular smile that had kept her awake till the wee of hours last night – or this morning – and had haunted her dreams after that. The same one she hadn't been able to take her eyes off all yesterday evening. And the man's smile was just as lop-sided as it had been.

The man looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was handsome in every sense of the word: with his dark thick hair, deep brown eyes, athletic physique and that killer lopsided smile (not to mention his obvious bed hair and the stubble on his jaw), he must have been the object of many day dreams. In fact, nothing in him seemed off-putting, which itself could have been off-putting - or suspicious at least. However there was something inviting in his eyes, something transparent in the way he carried himself. There was this particular kind of warmth that radiated from his every feature. That too seemed to run in the family, Gail mused.

And yet, he was just another pretty face to Gail. He was merely a reminder of someone, whose smile had taken her completely off guard and whose amazing personality had made her shiver from sheer warmth that spread around her body every time the person invaded her thoughts.

"Good morning ladies, how are you this morning? Good I take?" the man greeted them politely, as he took the time to make eye contact with each of the girls. Gail could instantly tell that the man was well-mannered, and not in a pretentious way, but in a genuine way. That didn't surprise her.

As his eyes landed on Gail, his expression changed into a one of mild surprise. "We haven't met, have we? If so, I apologize in advance. My name is…"

"Harry," Gail finished matter-of-factly, a small smirk playing on her lips.

The man's smile fell. "So we have met," he concluded, a hint of embarrassment in his tone.

Gail just shrugged. "Not exactly."

He looked at her with interest, expecting her to elaborate, but she just continued smiling at him as she had no intention of saying anything else about the matter. "Gail," the blonde offered instead, suddenly extending her hand for him to shake.

And just as unexpectantly, a tentative smile slowly crept on his lips, the kind that molds into a crook one after it reaches its full potential. Without any hesitation, he accepted the offered hand, and shook it firmly while he eyed the woman in front of him curiously. He was clearly a bit baffled by her, though seemingly finding her oddness intriguing rather than off-putting – which was another thing that the twins apparently seemed to have in common, Gail thought. However that said, their interest in the blonde woman seemed to flow in totally different streams.

"Right," he gave the blonde a small amused nod before shifting his gaze back to her friends. " I better go and see if I can find my cousins anywhere," he said before turning to Andy. "See you later?" She nodded with a smile. "Good," he said softly before turning to towards the others one last time. "Ladies, enjoy your breakfast. And Gail, it was nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Gail returned the genuine smile, before the man set off to find his relatives.

Just as he was out of hearing reach, and not a second later, Traci, with a swift move, turned her head to look at Andy straight in the eye. "Honey, you've got exactly three minutes time to get your skinny ass moving and get some breakfast, and after that, you start talking," she told her firmly.

Andy looked at her with wide eyes for a second. "Scary…" they heard her mutter as she left to get herself something to eat from the buffet.

Gail, hungry as hell and realizing that she was still to get any food herself, stood up to follow the brunette so that she could finally tame her roaring stomach. However her plan became short-lived as Traci grabbed her by the arm before she had a chance to leave the table.

"You, you are not going anywhere," the detective stated with a stern look.

"But…" Gail started to whine, but she was immediately cut off by one determined Traci Nash.

"How did you know his name? Because I'm pretty sure you didn't talk to any of the guys yesterday."

Gail slumped back down onto her seat with a defeated sigh. Traci sure could be intimidating when she wanted to. That was perhaps why she made such a brilliant detective. And a brilliant mother, for sure.

"A lucky guess?" Gail shrugged as she longingly gazed the vast amount of food that was displayed only a few feet away from her. Every inch between her and the buffet was as cruel as the other.

Traci rolled her eyes, but before she had a chance to pressure the blonde on the subject, Chloe noticed something.

"I wonder who that is?" the red head wondered, squinting her eyes as she tried to get a better look of something that was on the other side of the room.

"Who's who?" Traci asked, her attention shifting momentarily from interrogating the blonde to what Chloe was pointing at. She turned her head to get a better look of whoever it was that her friend was referring to.

"That beautiful brunette that just sat on their table. Don't remember seeing her yesterday," Chloe stated as she furrowed her eyebrows. The woman in question was laughing before slapping Harry teasingly on the arm. They seemed to know each other well, and Chloe was not entirely sure that she liked their interaction. After all, he had just spent a night with one of her best friends.

Gail, who now had also turned around to see what her friends were talking about, had to stifle a breath after laying her eyes on the woman in question.

If possible, the brunette was more beautiful than she remembered. And with that first glance she was now certain, that it was definitely not the alcohol that had made her pulse quicken the previous night. Nope. And it seemed that those symptoms had only gotten worse since then.

Traci, finally spotting the familiar faces from the crowd and then the woman Chloe was referring to, recognized the resemblance immediately. "By the looks of it, and I mean literally, she is Harry's sister," she said matter-of-factly before turning to look at Gail with a smirk. "And my guess is, that she's the source of Gail's intelligence."

"Brava, detective Nash," Gail saluted her friend with a smirk. No need to hide the obvious.

"Wait." Chloe turned to look at the two women and eyed them both for a moment. "You're saying Gail made a new friend yesterday?" she asked skeptically. "I don't buy it."

"It does sound a bit fishy," Traci agreed with a mock suspicion.

Gail rolled her eyes. "Ha ha hardy har." She eyed her friends for a moment before relenting to their questioning stares. "Okay, fine. Her name is Holly. And yes, she's Harry's sister. Twin sister. We met by the bar and started talking. And then we made fun of you guys. Which was a lot more fun than actually joining in your fun, " she explained, keeping the story purposefully generic enough. "And by fun I mean _fun, _" she emphasized, adding quotation marks to the last word.

Andy chose that particular moment to return to the table. "What fun?" she asked clueless as she set down her plate and the coffee cup she was carrying with her.

"Your _fun_!" Gail huffed, again with the quotation marks before reaching out and stealing Andy's cup, taking a good sip of the warm black nectar that she had fantasized of since the first rays of consciousness she had that morning. Andy frowned. However she was not fazed by Gail's sudden claim of her coffee, because after all, that was a regular event, and protesting was known to be useless anyway.

"You wanted to join in my _fun_"?" Andy asked in confusion and mild disgust, as her tone suggested something totally different than what Gail had intended.

Gail nearly choked on her coffee. "What? No, ewwwww."

"Couldn't agree more," Chloe grimaced while she was chewing a piece of her croissant, making a few pieces of crust fall out of her mouth.

Traci chuckled. "And what kind of fun is that?"

Andy smiled at them bashfully. "In all truth, nothing happened. Nothing like that. Yes, we spend the night together, and maybe, just maybe, at some point we might have made out. But mostly we just talked. And then we just fell asleep."

"Uhuh..." Chloe smirked.

"Look. He's a nice guy. But he's just divorced and I'm still…"

"But you can still have fun you know?" Traci asked emphatically, almost like she was genuinely worried that her friend would think otherwise. Andy had a messy past when it came to relationships, and she was the kind to punish herself of past mistakes. Sometimes that led to moments of deep insecure and doubt. Incidentally, that was something all four of them shared to a degree.

"I know, I know. And that is exactly what I plan on doing," Andy assured her with a smile. "Which reminds me, Harry asked if we would like to join them for a picnic today at the beach. And have fun, you know, together."

"_Fun_," Chloe chimed in with a grin as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Chloe!" Andy squealed at first but then breaking into a laugh with the others.

"Well, I think it sounds lovely." Traci mused. She turned to look at the blonde that had been silent for a while now. Traci noticed that she was still staring at the table where their newly found friends were sitting at. "You think you could manage that, Gail?"

Gail, reluctant to break her gaze, let her eyes linger in their target for a split second longer. "I'll let you know," she said thoughtfully.

Traci looked at the blonde curiously, but before she had a chance to say anything, Gail stood up abruptly and huffed. "Now get out of my way. Food."

* * *

**AN: More Gail/Holly interaction to come, a lot more, just be patient. Did I already tell you that reviews are awesome? And on that note, a couple of things. Now, I'm not really sure about the rating of this story, it might (and propably will) change at some point. So be warned. But first I need to learn how the rating system works, because I have no clue what so ever. And another thing. This is the first time I've ever written anything in English that is more than a couple of pages, so if my storytelling seems a bit erratic, it's because I'm still struggling with finding my "style of writing"; it has dawned on me, that different languages acuire different ways of using the language. It's not about words really, it's about the flow and rythm and now it's kind of everywhere and clumsy at times. Hopefully I'll get that tamed with time.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

It turned out to be a hot and humid day. The wind kept itself absent, making the sun burn vehemently and with vengeance. The girls spend their morning relaxing by the pool, all agreeing that no other activity should be performed while they were still recovering from last night. That was the plan until lunch. For lunch they had other plans, which included meeting the Stewarts at the beach.

And so Gail found herself sitting on the beach, watching the others while they were engaged in a game of beach volley ball. She had eventually agreed to join them in this group hanging slash picnic, but not before having a long silent conversation with herself about whether she should or not. There were so many voices in her head and all of them had their own opinions on the matter.

There were the familiar whispers that told her to run and hide. Those were always there, no matter what the issue was. Then there was the voice of reason that told her to seek closure by confronting the issue with a clear agenda – an agenda of cutting all the buds before they would grow into something else. That would be the responsible thing to do. Then there was the heart, the pit of her stomach, the voice of her conscience, her skin. Her mother. It was a goddam cacophony.

But the trickiest one of them all was the voice of doubt. Because that voice was like a plague, spreading itself everywhere, in every thought, in every notion before they had a chance to grow into decisions, making her ill with the poison of constant uncertainty. There was the doubt that Holly would never want to see her again or hear her explanations; that alone made her stomach turn unpleasantly. But the worst one was the doubt that seeped from deep within her, the one that maybe her mother didn't originally plant in her, but had definitively watered the seed enough to make it grow. It was the seed of self-doubt, that whatever she did was never good enough; that she had already screwed it up and made a mess, regardless of the outcome.

In a way it should have been liberating, because, in theory, it was quite easy to live the life of a screw up accordingly. There should have been no expectations. However it didn't work like that. Gail had noticed that there were always going to be expectations; from her mother, her friends, from everyone.

But Gail had come a long way from that. She had struggled with her self-esteem her whole life, but she had also worked hard over the past year to overcome her uncertainties. A year ago there was an undercover assignment that went terribly wrong, and Gail had found herself tied up into a table in the basement of a sociopath. In the end she survived it all, but not before witnessing a fellow cop, a good man, sacrificing his own life to safe hers. And for a long time Gail couldn't understand why the universe would play such a cruel trick on them; after all, his life had been far more precious and meaningful than hers was.

After the incident, the guilt weighing on her shoulders, she visited some deep and dark places. Then, as she reached the bottom, her brother finally managed to shook her out of it. He hadn't been very eloquent about it, but to be fair, eloquence had never been a Peck forte. Instead he succeeded in pointing out, in a rather harsh manner, that Gail had two choices: she could either bury herself in the guilt and self-pity and be done with it, or she could make Jerry's sacrifice count. And it was then that she had sworn not to waste her life in self loath anymore. It was also a promise she made to Jerry when she left her final goodbyes to him; that she would do everything she could to make herself whole once more, to live her life as a whole person. She would not let her uncertainties and self-doubt rule her life anymore, because that life would never be worth of the sacrifice he made. But she also knew that a lifetime of shit is not easily shoveled out of her. And that meant that she had to make that decision again and again, every time she started doubting herself. But she was learning, she was building herself piece by piece, and she had made progress. She had already learned to recognize the moments when she neared the darkened waters, whereas before she just fell right into the stream. She still fell there occasionally, but not every time anymore.

But self-doubt was a cunning little creature, she had noticed, a tough one to break, because it was able to take new forms every time Gail thought she learned how to recognize it, to control it. I was a chameleon of sorts. And when it came to the dilemma at hand, she managed to hush down all other voices in her head, except one: the one that was created by self-doubt, molded by denial and embraced by fear; the one that suggested that her intrigue towards Holly was just a part of her own mental processing, and therefore her sudden feelings towards the brunette were just fleeting ones; like her mind was testing the waters of something. Because it couldn't have been her heart. Her heart was always so guarded, so careful and timid.

But then another thought came to play. What if her mental processing was not only making her mind stronger, but also in consequence, the walls of her heart weaker? What if they were indeed breaking, slowly, but inevitably? She had let Nick in before as well as a few other people like Steve and Traci. But it had always been a long struggle, whereas with Holly, instead of keeping her in arm's length as she normally did, she had opened herself to her in so many ways that she never thought was even possible. And it had been scary and wonderful and confusing. Was it the stranger thing? They say that it's sometimes easier to open up to complete stranger than for those who are close to us. Or was it just Holly thing?

_Holly._ There was definitely a Holly thing. Of that much Gail was sure of.

It was ridiculous how this strange woman had gotten so fast under Gail's skin. She had already spent more hours thinking about her than she had actually been in her company. There had been an instant connection between the two, something that she, despite her inner doubts and over-analyzing, knew deep inside to be authentic and rare. Gail couldn't remember the last time that she had enjoyed being around someone that much. It was weird, but being with the brunette had a calming effect on her; everything around her felt suddenly more serene.

But the most amazing thing in the whole "Holly-effect" was that she, Gail Peck, the notorious ice queen and a known emotional wreck, felt good about _herself _in the company of the beautiful brunette. She liked the person she was with Holly. Yet she had been the same person, maybe a little softer version of herself, but still, the same person as she always was. Only with Holly, that person seemed to be interesting, funny, respected even – basically everything she never thought she would be. And that was a high that Gail had become instantly addicted to.

So in the end, the decision whether she should join her friends to their picnic date was easy to make. But in the end, all the inner turmoil turned out to be useless.

Because Holly wasn't there.

Harry told them that she would join them later; apparently there was a work thing. Disappointment washed over the blonde as she was told the news. No matter how nervous she had been about seeing her again, it was the only thing she had been able to think all morning. She couldn't help but wonder if Holly had made up excuses just to avoid seeing her.

So for her part the whole afternoon was spent in a grumpy mood, but she had tried her best not to show it – apparently it was called effort and she was in the business of trying new things. And as a consequence she actually got to know a little bit more of Holly's brother, Harry. She learned that he worked as a lawyer who was specialized in group claims. He too lived in Vancouver, where he had set up his own legal practice a few years ago. Gail also found out that Harry and Holly had a very close relationship with their parents who still lived in Thunder Bay. It was becoming clear to Gail that family was very important to the whole Stewart clan.

Gail had been also introduced to Dennis and Paul, the cousins of Holly and Harry. They were brothers, Dennis being the older one by 2 years. He was quite the talker, whereas his brother Paul seemed to be a bit more of the quit type, not shy, but contemplative perhaps. They both seemed very nice, though it was obvious that they lacked the same charm that the Stewart twins shared.

* * *

Gail was pulled out of her daze when Harry sat down next to her, slightly panting as he reached for one of the water bottles they had brought with them down to the beach. Gail looked up and saw that the others were still engaged in their little game of beach volley ball, well, if you could call it that. It was more ju laughing and joking around.

"I figured it out, you know," he said after taking a sip of the water, his eyes still set in the game.

"What's that?" Gail asked.

"How you knew who I was. Because I was quite sure that we hadn't met before. I think I would have remembered that," he said casually without making the last part sound like a pick-up line. It was meant as a compliment, yet not a one that was said with intentions or additional innuendos. "Besides, my sister is terrible keeping secrets."

This got Gail's attention. She turned to look at the man beside her who was still seemingly watching their friends play.

"What does your sister got to do with anything?" she tried to ask casually, not wanting to give out anything willingly. Apparently Harry knew something, but it didn't mean it was much. And for all she knew, he might have been just fishing.

He finally turned to look at her with an amused smile. "I don't know. You tell me."

Gail shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Harry looked at her with a smile before turning his gaze. "You know, they say that twins have this sixth sense when it comes to the other. I find that statement to be quite true," he concluded with a thoughtful nod, as if it was a novel thought to him as well. Then he took a pause before adding: "Plus the fact that I saw you two talking yesterday at the bar indicates that you two might have met each other." His teasing tone was accompanied by a knowing smirk.

"Busted," Gail relented with a small smile, while trying to keep her nervousness in bay. Gail knew that Holly and Harry were close and that they talked to each other about stuff. Gail had wished that what happened would have stayed between the two of them, but in that moment it was dawning on her, that the brunette didn't perhaps see it that way and it had been just an assumption from her part that they would share that thought. Still, she couldn't help but to be a little annoyed by the possibility that Holly had told her brother of what had happened the previous night.

"So, what did she tell you?" she mustered as nonchalantly as she could, hoping that he wouldn't notice how her heart was now beating slightly more faster than in was a minute ago.

"Not much really. Just that you saved her from a boring book," he shrugged.

For a moment Gail looked at him confused. Then she remembered: the beautiful brunette, her nose buried in a book, in the middle of a party. It had been such an odd sight. It was like the beautiful brunette had created her own stagnant bubble amongst chaos, why, she did not really know. All she knew was that the sight had captured her from the second she had laid eyes on her, and for some reason Gail had felt like she was the only one who was able to see her there. Like Holly, in that moment, had been her own mirage. She couldn't help but to chuckle at the memory.

"Right, she was actually reading right there, in the middle of the party." Gail smiled softly, a warm feeling spreading all over her body at the thought of the peculiar brunette.

Harry nodded. "That's my sister - a nerd to the core," he joked goodheartedly.

"That's exactly what I told her," Gail hummed.

"Why am I not surprised, officer." Harry turned to look at her with a small smile playing on his lips. However there was something pensive in his eyes that hadn't been present in his tone. Gail couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something told her that his statement was meant as something more than just casual conversation filler.

"You know," he continued with a more serious tone, "She's not the kind of person to make new friends easily. I mean Holly is always friendly and polite, warm even, but still she's not too eager to make new friends. At least close friends. I think it's a self-preservation thing," he said carefully, seemingly conscious of his choice of words.

Gail found herself not liking where the conversation was heading. She noticed that she was not comfortable with threading personal waters with him, even when those waters weren't her own. It was perhaps silly, but she didn't want to talk about Holly with him unless it was something casual; she didn't want to be told what she was like or where her insecurities lied. That was hers to find out, and only from Holly herself.

"She likes you," Harry continued after a pause when he got no response from the blonde. "I can tell."

"Spit it out," Gail snapped.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked confused. However he didn't seem to be taken back by the blonde's bite.

"Harry, I don't know what you're implying here, but you are definitely implying something. Now, I'm aware that you don't know me, so therefore I'm willing to tell you a few things about me first, just so that in the future we can skip these mind games that might entertain you, but does nothing but irritate yours truly. And that's was your first lesson. The second one is that I don't like to talk about my relationships with anyone, last of all with someone who I don't even know. That said, as a gesture of good-will from my part, I will tell you this: I think your sister is interesting, she's smart and she's weird and I like her. And that's as much as soul-bearing you will ever get out from me."

"I'm sorry ,"he apologized genuinely. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Gail sighed, feeling her defenses and the snark that came with it ease a bit. She genuinely liked the guy, but hated when people made assumptions. It was a bright red cloth to her.

"Look, I like your sister," she said, this time a little more softly. "But that's none of your business."

"Fair enough," he nodded again.

After that, they spend a couple of minutes in contemplative silence, both seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Harry took one final sip of water and then throwing the empty bottle on the sand before rising up to his feet. "You know, we have a lot in common," he said absentmindedly while wiping the sand off of back of his thighs.

Gail lifted her gaze to look at him curiously.

"I like my sister as well. A lot," he said. Then he paused his movements and made a point of looking her straight in the eye. "And I don't like games either," he added gently but firmly enough for Gail to understand the underlying message of that statement. And she did understand; she knew exactly what he was trying to say.

But the kill was yet to come. He started to walk backwards towards their friends before adding one last thing: "By the way, I heard you got engaged recently. Congratulations," he said with a polite smile before turning and returning back to the game.

Gail shook her head gently, not knowing if she should be shocked, irritated or amused even. One thing she knew for sure: that had been the first time ever that someone had given her "the warning." And if things wouldn't have been so confusing to Gail, she might have found the whole thing to be hilarious.

* * *

_Okay, so this story is turning out to be a lot longer than I originally expected. Just be patient with me. The next chapter is halfway done, it was originally part of this chapter, but I decided to cut it in two so that I could post something sooner than later. _

_And people, your reviews have made my heart swell. You guys are simply wonderful and I'm honored that you are sticking with this story. Also, a huge thank you to **JazzTheCookieMonster** for explaining to me how the rating system works. I have yet to chance the rating, but like said, that will probably happen at some point._

_And to **Daiskuh**, who asked me where I'm from: I'm from Finland. J_


	7. Chapter 7

An hour later Gail found herself sauntering towards the beach bar. She was in desperate need for a drink that was something else than water. Holly was still a no show, and it was getting to her more than she cared to admit.

As she was getting closer to her destination, she noticed a woman sitting by bar on one of the bar stools, talking to the bartender who seemed to be carefully listening what the woman was saying. Gail felt her pulse quicken. She couldn't see the woman's face, but the long wavy brown hair, the signature head tilt, and the way the woman was talking with her hands were enough clues for Gail to recognize who the person was: it was the same woman she had dreaded and dreamed of seeing all day.

Gail came to a stop and she took a deep breath. She watched the the woman in question pull her hair to a loose ponytail while laughing at something that the bartender said. She could hear the faint sounds of her laughter, releasing the butterflies from their cage and making them spiral like gracy in her stomach. So much for the much needed composure, she mused.

Gail took another deep breath before she was able to make her feet move again, taking those last crucial steps towards the bar that now had something totally different to offer than what she first had in mind. She was a few steps away when she cached that torturously sweet scent that could only be described as something intoxicating, something solely Holly, traveling with the occasional whiffs of wind that passed her way. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest as the bartender shifted his eyes towards the blonde and making her presence known as she was a still a few steps away from the bar. The brunette's curiosity made her turn sideways and it was then when their eyes met.

And it happened in a split of a second, but Gail saw it anyway; how the smile on Holly's features faltered and how her shoulders stiffened. The changes were subtle, but Gail had a trained eye for those. She had expected such reaction, but still it felt like a kick in the gut.

However Holly was quick to recover as a tentative smile formed slowly on her lips. It was guarded, just like the rest of her demeanor, but Gail couldn't blame the woman. However she was happy that her presence didn't seem be totally unwelcomed.

"Hi," Gail offered carefully, trying her hardest to hide the nervousness from her voice, though she was quite sure that the brunette could see right through her. In fact, it seemed that all those years of training in the force about how to hide your emotions in difficult situations were becoming futile; or perhaps the brunette just had special super powers and that only she was able to make Gail's all defenses useless. But as soon as that thought reached her, she declined it, not wanting face what it would have meant.

"Hi," Holly replied as she bit her lower lip. It was obvious that Gail was not the only one who was feeling the effects of their sudden reunion.

"Can I.. umm…" Gail nodded towards the vacant bar stool beside Holly.

"Of course you can," Holly urged her with a wave of her hand.

Gail settled herself on the stool before she slowly turned to look at the brunette again. She was met by a warm look and a shy smile, and suddenly Gail just knew that everything would be alright. And it was then that she realized that that was just the essence of Holly; that she had to be made of comfort and warmth and pillows and things that only had round edges. She herself was just rocks and ice and everything that was bleak. But Holly, Holly was the opposite. She made the blonde feel that it was alright, that everything was always going to be alright, and for Gail that kind of comfort felt foreign but engulfing. However Holly's soothing presence didn't erase her nervousness completely, because she was also aware of her own super power, which was a chronic foot-in-mouth complex. That usually led to demolishing results.

"How are you?" she asked after some a few seconds of silence.

Holly looked at her knowingly. "I'm okay," she answered with little emotion, knowing that Gail was still probing.

Gail took a deep breath before cutting to the chase. "Look Holly, I'm really sorry about last night."

"Gail," Holly sighed softly, "It's okay."

"But it isn't," the blonde huffed. Holly's seemingly calm demeanor that gave her reassurance before, was now making her anxious as she realized that she actually wanted it to be _not_ okay. She wanted a chance to make amends, to explain, to apologize. She wanted it to mean something. Because "being okay" sounded like she was indifferent about the whole thing, and she realized that it was that thought that hurt her so much more than her original fear that Holly would not forgive her.

Holly shifted her gaze towards the half-filled coffee cup in front or her and started to play with the spoon as she looked contemplative for a moment. Then she lifted her gaze to meet blue eyes once again. "I'm not that innocent myself, you know. I did know about it," she smiled sadly.

"Why didn't you say anything? If you knew?" Gail asked, suddenly reminded of the fact that Holly indeed knew that she was unavailable.

The brunette sighed. "I was gonna call you out on that. I mean, it was such a sleazy move from your part and I when I saw you do it, I wanted to say something. But then… I guess I just thought that I would play along for a while, and at some point, just throw it in your face or something. Well that's at least what I told myself," she scoffed herself. Holly's words made Gail shift her eyes on the ground as the shame hit her body full force; she felt mortified, and the brunette's bluntness did nothing to ease her discomfort.

"But then we started talking more and… I don't' know. You weren't anything like I thought you would be. And I enjoyed talking to you and… just generally being with you. And then for a while I guess I just forgot the whole thing. Or unconsciously decided to ignore it." Holly said gently as she laid her hand on the blonde's forearm, urging Gail look at her once again. "But either way, it was wrong of me to do so," she concluded as she softly squeezed her arm, trying to convey to the blonde that they had been _both_ in the wrong and that she didn't blame solely Gail for what had happened… well, what _almost_ happened.

Gail looked at her with a self-conscious frown. "I don't know why I did it. I've never done anything like that before. It has never even crossed my mind," the blonde hurried. "You just totally blindsided me. Not that it was your fault. But what I mean is that... I've never… I didn't know what to think about it. If you would have been a guy, I would have never done that."

Holly flinched at that, and Gail immediately regretted her choice of words. She sent an apologetic look towards Holly, which she surprisingly seemed to accept without further explanation. Nevertheless, Gail knew that she was on thin ice as she took a deep breath before continuing.

"What I'm trying to say is that I didn't take that ring off because I wanted to lead you on or take advantage. I didn't think it like that and I didn't think the consequences. You got me intrigued, and I enjoyed your company from the moment we started talking, and I was afraid that if you'd see the ring, it would scare you away, that you would lose your interest. I knew that you were flirting with me, but what I didn't realize right then, was that… I was attracted to you as well," she added bashfully, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks with due to her own admission.

"The whole situation just threw me off the loop and I reacted poorly. I should have been honest from the start, but somehow I convinced myself that it was all innocent. A real bad case of self-delusion I guess," Gail let out a humorless laugh, realizing now herself how in denial she had been. Soon her expression however turned into one of regret. Gail looked at the brunette for a moment, making sure that she had her full attention, before adding the most important part to her speech, the words she desperately needed to say, the one's she desperately needed for Holly to hear and believe to be sincere.

"I'm sorry Holly. I really am. But believe me, I'm not that person. And I don't want you to think of me badly, even though I probably deserve it."

Holly shook her head and raised her hand to stop the blonde from going that road further. "Stop it Gail," she told the blonde emphatically but firmly. "Okay yeah, you were a little bit of a jerk, but so was I. You didn't tell and I didn't want to hear. The way we steered off from any topic concerning romantic relationships yesterday makes it kinda obvious that neither one of us wanted to touch that topic. It's on both of us, okay? So let's stop the guilt trip here. Besides, nothing really happened. I mean nothing that would make a difference anyway. So let's leave it at that, okay?"

Gail looked at the brunette with a skeptical look. "So… you don't hate me?"

Holly couldn't help but to let out a small laugh which then turned into a warm smile. "No, god no. I am frustrated with you, and I have a feeling that it will be a recurring thing with you, but I don't hate you. I don't think I could never hate you."

Gail nodded her head as she smiled in relief. "Well that's good. Frustrated is good."

Holly bit her lower lip before continuing after few seconds. "To be honest, I really enjoy your company Gail, and even if we can't… I would like to get to know you. To try to be friends with you. I get it if you think it's a bit awkward but at least we could give it a shot?" she suggested sincerely, not at all sure how that would play out, but wanting to give it an honest try.

Gail furrowed her eyebrows as she looked like she was actually contemplating the suggestion. "Hmmm, I don't know. I don't usually hang out with nerds."

To that, Holly let out a hearty laugh. "Oh I seem to recall that you enjoyed the company of a one particular super nerd a whole lot yesterday evening," Holly joked before realizing the flirtatious tone she had used; apparently she couldn't help herself when she was around the gorgeous blonde. And that might have not been very assuring when it came to the prospect of them becoming friends and having only friendly feelings towards each other. Gail's now wide eyes indicated as much: she needed to brush up her platonic conversation skills if they ever had a chance of becoming friends. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly to Gail, who now smirked at the brunette.

"Did you really have a work thing?" Gail suddenly blurted seemingly out of nowhere. Holly however, to her credit, had no trouble keeping up.

"I did," she nodded. Then her lips formed a sheepish smile. "And I might have taken a nap after that. Didn't get much sleep last night."

"I know the feeling," Gail hummed, before a thought crossed her mind. "I think your brother gave me the talk. About you. "

"Shit," Holly muttered. However she didn't seem all that surprised and Gail looked her with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't tell him anything," Holly explained quickly as she saw her expression, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. "He just kinda… reads these things."

Gail gave the brunette an understanding smile. "It's fine. It was kind of sweet. Annoying, but sweet."

Holly nodded. "I'll talk to him."

Gail laid her hand on top of Holly's that was resting on her thigh. "It's fine. Hols, really," she assured her.

Holly had to bite her lower lip to stop the content sight from escaping her lips. The feel of Gail's hand on hers made her body shiver, while the cop's simple words caused something tug her heart. The sensation was almost painful, yet addictive, and Holly wanted nothing more than to hold on to that, to grasp it and nurture it and make it grow. How in the world could she keep her emotions at bay with the woman, was beyond her.

Gail sensed Holly's discomfort and pulled her hand away. Holly, somewhat grateful for Gail's attentiveness, took a breath and tried to compose herself quickly. It was amazing how just one simple touch like that could drive her mind in such a daze that no coherent thought could break through.

"So... are you going to join us now? To the beach I mean." Gail asked after a few seconds, breaking the tension with a casual yet hopeful tone.

Holly smiled at the blonde. "That was the plan. I was actually just about to join you, just needed a spike of caffeine first," she said pointing at her coffee cup, realizing that the rest of content was probably tepid by now. "You know, it's not like I really want to ask, but… if we don't want to make people suspicious, I think I should know at least something about your… fiancé I gather?" she grimaced playfully, not that it took much effort from her to do so.

"Ah," Gail took a deep nod as she sighed. "Was it that obvious?"

"Yeah, kinda," Holly smiled tenderly. She wasn't trying to make a point, but knew that the question would make the blonde uncomfortable. And Gail seemed to understand that as there were no signs of her defenses building up, only a small thoughtful frown forming on her face.

Gail took a moment as she weighed her next words carefully, tilting her head slightly. "His name is Nick. He's also a cop in the 15th," she spoke slowly as she absently played with her engagement ring."Aaaand that's pretty much all you need to know," she finished with a faster pace and a lighter tone that didn't seem earnest. Holly gave her a skeptic look, to which Gail just shrugged. "Like I told you yesterday, I'm notorious when it comes to not sharing things, so if I would have told you more than that, then that would be suspicious," she explained.

Holly looked at Gail for a moment while wearing a contemplative expression. It was obvious to Gail that Holly was struggling with something.

"Is he a good guy?" she finally dared, her tone soft but voiced with serious intentions.

And there it was; the question Gail had been dreading. It was expected, but still it brought an ill feeling to her stomach. She knew what Holly was really asking, and she was aware of the ramifications of her answer. And still, they both knew the answer before it was even made audible.

"Yeah," Gail breathed out quietly.

Holly looked away for a moment, swallowing the obvious disappointment. She still sported a soft smile, but as the finality of it all caught up with her, a wistful look was painted on her features. It was bare and it was on display, and Gail knew that Holly wanted her to see that even if she couldn't look her in the eye. It was meant as a closure of some sort; as a last intimate display of affection before closing that door for good.

And just like that, the moment was over. Holly then took a deep breath as she turned to look at the blonde once again, her mind switching gears as a wide smile adorned her face. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes, but it was all the same.

"Shall we then?" she suggested as cheerfully she could muster, signaling towards the beach. Gail, accepting the shift, just nodded with a smile before rising up from her seat. It was time to move on.

However as they walked towards their friends, a sinking feeling started to form in Gails stomach; suddenly it felt like something was terribly wrong. They were okay and they were trying the whole friendship thing: it was more than Gail could have hoped for and she should have been jumping with joy. But her heart, her heart felt now heavier than it did before.

That was not supposed to happen.

* * *

**It feels like I haven't even started with this story yet. Which, my lovely readers, means that there's a lot more to come. Once again, thank you for your commets!**


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